Memories

Thursday, 16 July 2015

It raised many an eyebrow
when the father celebrated the birth of his fifth girl child, with all its pomp and splendour ,naming her
Bhagyalakshmy, a synonym for LUCK. That
is ME and the long journey from there to
this Day has been ,true to my father’s speculation AND his blessings--------a very rewarding one!!!!!

I had the best possible basic education provided to me as
against the “then” existing norms and conditions in and out of the community. I
salute, thee, my father ---the soul that had visualized the Gandhian ideology
,the place of women in the post
Independent India.

My undergraduation, graduation and postgraduation went
off successfully in a row with the extra-curricular,co-curricular
activities drawing my attention in between---------------- I wish
I could have made it a little more brighter had I combined Hardwork and Luck in the required proportion!!

I was given the
career option of serving the people---as
a medical doctor or a teacher----------- at one point of time I could prove
that my EQ overpowered my IQ
and it was then the privilege of enjoying
Shakespeare, Keats, Wordsworth and the like was bestowed upon me instead of counting the number of bones in an anatomy Lab :)- !!!!!!
When the idea of entering
the teaching profession dawned on me, I equipped myself with a training ..And thus I stepped into the Noblest of noble professions(they say???????) which, sadly though, earns
more respect than money, unlike
a doctor…..

Well,I have no regrets……I am surrounded by people who love
me---a dutiful husband,a son and a daughter who are my pride and delight!!!!!

My experience as a teacher ,for nearly two decades,in a
Public School of International fame ,in
The Nilgiris is my identity .The
holistic environment in which the children were educated influenced me as
well----- ---- The youthful spirit of the children engulfs you so much that one never
feels the passage of Time till one gets
an order from the office reminding you of your grey hair.

I was no exception to
this and so here I am settled at the foothills of The Queen of Hills ,yet with
a serving attitude to the society.

Though I am signing off now revealing a part of the “I in Me”
through the above lines,I will come back to you with the many facets it has………… If you have
the time,I have the sands to fill it
with!!!!!!!!

(dedicated
to my beloved AMMA ..and all the wonderful MOTHERS of the world)

It was around 2 o’clock in the morning on the 26th
of May,2011….someone whispered in my ear, "amma is no more”…

Should
I believe it or not?...............how
can my mother whom I had always wanted to be my companion …by my side, till
the end of the world ………depart from me
or rather leave me in a dark circle?????

Minutes later,I had to gulp that unpalatable TRUTH…yaa…. A PART of me is gone and the other part has
to live for the sake of those around it !!!!!

Three hours later, I was sitting all by myself in an express
train heading towards Kottayam, to have a last glimpse of my ‘amma’ in a state in which I had never wanted
her to be!!!!

The train whizzed
past leaving behind the destinations of many and before I arrived at mine, memories
flashed through my mind, in a bird’s eye view. I tried to capture and re-live
some of those richest experiences with her….but alas! failed to do so , since every experience in the span of
6 decades was worth living which could I exclude????

Amma was Beautiful. I always
thought that the 16th century
dramatist, The Bard-of-Avon ,would have written, just for her, the following
lines, “Age cannot wither her beauty, Nor
stale her custom..”

She was a treasure house of LOVE..the more she poured it over us, the less did it get
drained….I sometimes wondered how amma could give something which
she had not received…….(she had lost her
mother at a very tender age ).One of the several occasions where I experienced
this selfless, unconditional love was during the two childbirths I had. The
depth of the care and concern she showed at that time made me feel as though I was born to her again!!

Amma never preached to us on discipline or values… she led us by
example….every act she did, every moment she lived was exemplary…

I would like to end this by quoting a few lines from a famous Tamil song, which had touched the hearts of
every single soul that had heard it: